Hildebrand went with Keller because, in the early stages of the remote fire, officials believed it was in Lehigh Township. Hildebrand said the Blue Mountain visit eliminated an unidentified camper as having a role in the fire.

"No relationship," Hildebrand said of the campfire that Monday's firefighters discovered on their way to the bigger fire. He said the camper apparently left in a hurry, leaving behind several items, including a liquor bottle.

Hildebrand said the fire was concentrated on an acre of woods and brush.

"It was a mixture of grass vegetation and tree cover," he said. "It's along the Appalachian Trail. It's locally known as the winter trail, because the hikers use it when the usual trail, the summer trail with all of its big boulders, is covered with ice."

Keller soon will have his report on the fire, Hildebrand said.

The fire along the Carbon County-Lehigh County border brought in firefighters from five fire companies, who battled flames for three hours. No one was hurt, and no building was damaged.

The blaze was reported at 7:40 p.m. An hour and a half later, a Northampton County emergency dispatch supervisor said the blaze was not totally contained, but it was no longer out of control.

By 10:54 p.m., Hildebrand said, the fire was out and all fire companies were gone or on their way back to their stations.

Witnesses to a "glow in the sky" initially were not sure if the fire was in Lower Towamensing Township, Carbon County; Washington Township, Lehigh County; or Lehigh Township, Northampton County.

But within minutes, emergency officials decided the fire was in Lehigh Township. A later recalculation put the fire just over the line, in Lower Towamensing.

"It was at the top of the mountain," Hildebrand said. "Straight up, 1,500 feet in elevation."

Early on, fire officials sent a small crew on an all-terrain vehicle to help pinpoint the fire, size it up and determine how far it was likely to spread. The mountain was fairly dry, and the night's light wind was from the northwest. The fire appeared to be moving east.

Hildebrand said the grasses that spread the fire were part of a Superfund revegetation program for Blue Mountain.

"This was some of the grasses they've planted," he said. "They've grown and they've created a fine fuel. Within one hour of the rain, they can be dry enough to burn. And it was a high-fire-danger day."

The chief said the fire inquiry would have to look at the possibility of arson.

"They just arrested a guy [not far away] in Carbon County for causing fires, but there's no indication that there's anything like that going on," he said. "We have to look at it though."

Aquashicola, Slatington, Walnutport, Allen Township and Lehigh Township fire companies took part in fighting the fire. The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources also assisted.

Firefighters approached the blaze from two directions, Hildebrand said.

"We had a hand crew that started hiking in from the parking lot off Route 248, which is right at the highway level," he said. "We also had trucks and water coming from the Blue Mountain Ski Area. It's like an old service road. That's three to four miles across the top of the mountan. It takes about a half hour to come in over the top."

The bumpy service road, which provided access to a mountain beacon until the mid-20th century, turned out to be the better way to go.

"The guys from the top had it a lot easier driving across," Hildebrand said. "That way we saved a lot of labor-intensive effort with guys hiking up with tanks on their backs."

The state has considered completely abandoning the service road, but Monday's fire is a reminder how important that access is, he said.

"It's a lifesaver," he said. "That's our only lifeline to get to injury victims and fires up there."